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WARTIME  REPLACEMENT 

IN  THE 
CITY  OF  MINNEAPOLIS 


PUBLISHED  BY 

THE  VOCATIONAL  INFORMATION  SERVICE 
I  OF  THE 

WOMAN'S   OCCUPATIONAL   BUREAU,^ 
204  Transportation  Bldg., 
Minneapolis 


WARTIME  REPLACEMENT 

IN  THE 
CITY  OF  MINNEAPOLIS 


Complimentary  Copy 

OCCUPATIONAL  BULLETIN  NO.  2 


•     Published  by 
The  Vocational  Information   Service 

of  the 

Woman's  Occupational  Bureau, 
Transportation  Bldg. 
Minneapolis. 
M.  5220 


Price,  Fifteen  Cents 


Copyright,    April,     1919 

Elizabeth   Johnston   and 

Woman's  Occupational  Bureau 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

WAR-TIME  REPLACEMENT  IN  THE  CITY  OF  MINNEAPOLIS 

I.     Introduction. 

A.  Survey  as  Representative  Study  for  Replacement  in  Middle  West- 
ern City. 

B.  Effect  of  Geographical  Location. 

C.  Proportion  of  Replacement  according  to  Kinds  of  Business. 

D.  Special   classification   in    Clerical   and    Stenographic    Replace- 
ment. 

E.  Information  Included  in  Survey. 

II.  Kinds  of  Business. 

III.  Kinds  of  Work. 

IV.  Comparative  Wage  and  Hours. 

V.  Replacement  as  Shown  by  United  States  Employment  Service. 

VI.     Relation  of  amount  of  Replacement  to  the  Total  Number  of  Men  who 
entered  the  Service. 

VII.     Demobilization  of  Women. 


CHARTS 

1.  Table  No.  I — Proportion  of  Replacement  to  Business. 

2.  Table  No.  II— Clerical  and  Stenographic  Replacement. 

3.  Table  No.  Ill — Comparative  Wage  of  Men  &  Women  in  Replacement. 

4.  Table  No.  IV— Comparative  Hours  of  Men  &  Women  in  Replacement. 

5.  Table  No.  V — Replacement  of  Men  by  Women,  U.  S.  Employment  Service. 


PREFACE 

The  tables  presented  in  this  report  were  compiled  from  data  collected  in- 
the  Industrial  Survey  of  Women  Employed  Outside  the  Home,  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Minnesota  Public  Safety  Commission,  the  State  Council  of 
National  Defense,  and  the  Department  of  Labor  and  Industries,  with  the 
local  co-operation  of  the  Woman's  Occupational  Bureau,  the  Civic  and 
Commerce  Association,  the  Committee  on  Women  in  Industry  of  the  Council 
of  National  Defense,  and  numerous  other  agencies  and  individuals. 

Special  acknowledgment  should  be  made  to  Miss  Katherine  A.  King, 
Examiner,  Women's  Division,  United  States  Employment  Service  for  the 
valuable  information  furnished  on  Industrial  Replacement  from  August  to 
November.  Through  her  courteous  co-operation  a  more  complete  and  com- 
prehensive report  has  been  made  possible. 

ELIZABETH  JOHNSTON,  Editor, 
Asst.  Director  Vocational  Information  Service. 
March,  1919. 


I.    INTRODUCTION 

A.     Survey  as  Representative  Study  for  Replacement  in 
Middle  Western  City 

"One  of  the  commonplaces  of  the  great  war  is  the  changes  which  it  has 
produced  in  every  phase  of  human  relationship ;  not  the  least  of  these  being 
the  opening  of  the  professions,  business  and  industry  to  women  to  a  far 
greater  extent  than  ever  before."*  This  is  especially  true  in  Europe,  but  in 
this  country  it  is  the  enlarging  of  present  opportunities  rather  than  the 
opening  up  of  new  fields  of  action.  As  a  result  of  the  Survey  of  Women 
in  Industry  outside  the  Home  in  Minneapolis  itaken  under  the  auspices  of 
the  State  Department  of  Labor,  the  Council  of  National  Defense,  and  the 
Woman's  Occupational  Bureau,  statistics  of  replacement  (have  been  com- 
piled with  most  illuminating  results.  Thirty-six  hundred  employers  have 
co-operated  in  furnishing  information  concerning  82,000  employees. 
While  the  Survey  does  not  pretend  to  be  absolutely  complete  or  exhaust- 
ive, it  presents  a  fairly  accurate  representation  of  conditions  existing  ait 
tihe  time  the  Survey  was  compiled  in  September,  1918.  The  scope  of  its 
information  has  been  enlarged  by  the  supplementary  records  of  the 
United  States  Employment  Service  of  Minneapolis  which  adds  to  the 
completeness  of  the  picture. 

Replacement  of  men  by  women  in  industry,  due  to  the  pressure  of  the 
emergency  created  by  the  war,  is  comparatively  small  in  Minneapolis.  Of 
the  22,555  women  employed  outside  the  home  in  this  city  there  are  only  647 
women  who  replaced  men,  concerning  whom  the  relative  wages  of  both 
man  and  woman  were  given.  These  647  women,  at  an  average  wage  of 
$15.25,  replaced  622  men  at  an  average  wage  of  $21.19.  Beyond  this,  there 
are  186  women  who  also  replaced  men,  of  whom,  however,  information  is 
lacking  concerning  the  man  replaced.  For  example,  in  a  manufacturing 
establishment  engaged  in  war  contracts,  fifty-five  women  employed  on  piece 
work  for  munitions,  while  not  replacing  men  in  a  strict  sense,  neverthless 
were  engaged  in  work  ordinarily  performed  by  men.  "Clear  distinction 
should  be  made  between  the  normal  employment  of  women  and  the  sub- 
stitution of  women  for  men.  The  wide  variety  of  work  in  which  women  are 
now  engaged  may  easily  create  an  exaggerated  idea  of  such  substitu- 
tion." ** 

B.    Effect  of  Geographical  Location 

We  find  a  far  greater  readjustment  in  the  East.  Our  geographically  cen- 
tral location  has  proved  fortunate  as  the  severity  of  fluctuations  of  cost  of 
living  and  readjustment  of  industry  felt  so  suddenly  in  eastern  and  western 
cities,  have  been  modified  by  time  and  distance  in  reaching  us.  Although 
women  have  replaced  men  in  a  large  variety  of  occupations,  yet  the  actual 
number  is  negligible  in  the  proportion,  1  to  27.  Of  the  total  number  of 
women  employed  in  the  city,  less  than  a  hundred  such  women  have  received 
wages  so  exceptionally  high  that  a  return  to  the  .present  average  for  all 
others  would  be  noticeable. 

*  Opportunities  for  Women  in  Municipal  Civil  Service,  New  York,  p.  74. 
Published  by  The  Intercollegiate  Bureau  of  Occupations,  New  York. 

**  Wartime  Employment  of  Women  in  Metal  Trades,  Research  Report 
No.  8.  Published  by  National  Industrial  Conference  Board,  15  Beacon 
St.,  Boston. 


WAR-TIME  REPLACEMENT 


PROPORTION  OF  REPLACEMENT  ACCORDING  TO 
KINDS  OF  BUSINESS 

TABLE  NO.  I. 


Kind  of  Work 

Number 
Women 

Average 
Wage 
(Women) 

Average 
Age 

Number 
Men 

Average 
Wage 
(Men) 

1.  Trade    

350 

14.48 

23% 

331 

17.93 

2.  Mfg.  and  Mech.. 

115 

14.01 

25 

112 

17.42 

3.  Domestic    and 

1 

Personal  

46      I      12.47 

28 

45 

13.30 

4.  Transportation    . 

77      |      20.66 

30 

77            21.54 

5.  Cler.  and   Steno. 

not    otherwise 

listed    

41 

15.94 

25% 

39             19.23 

6.  Public    service.  . 

10      1       18.76 

25 

10            21.65 

7.  Professional    .  .  . 

8      |      22.96 

26 

8 

33.24 

TOTAL  

647      | 

622 

TOTAL    AV.. 

|      15.25      |      25 

21.19 

186  women  not  replacing  any  special  men. 
833.     Total  —  1   in  27  replacement. 

C.      Proportion  of  Replacement  According  to   Kinds  of 

Business 
I.     Trade 

As  indicated  on  Table  No.  1,  one-half  the  women  replacing  men  are  to 
be  found  in  the  fields  of  trade,  which  includes  grain,  fuel,  flour  mill  and 
lumber  industries,  real  estate,  bonds,  retail  and  wholesale  firms,  insurance, 
rentals,  banks,  and  commercial  miscellaneous.  There  are  350  women  who 
have  taken  places  of  331  men,  indicating  that  in  a  few  instances,  two  women 
have  replaced  one  man;  e.  g.,  for  a  retail  store,  two  clerks  at  $14  and  $12 
respectively  a  week,  replace  one  man  at  $23.  Also,  two  discount  tellers  at 
$31.25  and  $17.50,  respectively,  replaced  one  man  at  $40.  The  men  had 
probably  been  in  the  employ  of  the  firms  for  a  long  period  of  time,  and  were 
of  more  value  in  experience  and  ability. 

The  average  weekly  wage  for  women  in  trade  is  $14.48,  and  the  average 
weekly  wage  for  men  is  slightly  more,  $17.93.  It  will  be  noted  that  the 
average  age  of  women  in  trade,  23l/2  years,  is  the  lowest  average  of  any 
branch  of  industry,  probably  due  to  the  fact  that  a  large  number  of  high 
school  girls  of  eighteen  or  nineteen  years  have  entered  banks. 

II.     Manufacturing  and  Mechanical 

Second  to  replacement  in  Trade  in  Minneapolis,  is  replacement  in  Man- 
ufacturing and  Mechanical  industries,  where  dramatic  and  radical  readjust- 


WAR-TIME  REPLACEMENT  7 

ment  has  been  universally  made.  Women  numbering  115  have  replaced  112 
men,  that  is,  a  little  less  than  one-sixth  of  the  total  number  of  women 
replacements,  and  one-third  of  the  number  in  Trade.  This  is  a  compara- 
tively small  proportion,  as  such  figures  loom  large  in  England  and  the 
Eastern  States.  Twenty-one  thousand  women  were  working  on  aeroplanes 
alone  in  England,  and  1,000,000  women  were  employed  in  munitions.  After 
all,  the  figures  show  that  this  part  of  the  country  had  a  small  share  in  the 
production  of  war  materials,  and  therefore  the  problem  of  the  readjust- 
ment of  women  workers  will  nofc  be  serious.  Notable  exception  to  this 
generalization  may  be  found  in  the  case  of  a  large  factory  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  of  munitions  where  girls  were  employed  on  piece  work  on 
gun  carriage  limbers  and  shells.  Sash  and  Door  companies  employed  a 
number  of  women  to  make  sashes,  run  cut-off  saws,  to  pin  sashes,  nail, 
cut  light  lumber,  to  patch  doors,  etc. 

The  printers  have  replaced  with  a  number  of  women,  as  press-feed- 
ers, transfer  cutters,  and  compositors;  food  factories  and  knitting  mills 
also  feature  in  readjustment.  At  a  metal  products  manufacturing  com- 
pany young  women  were  being  employed  to  build  furnaces,  tanks, 
torches  and  equipment  used  in  the  manufacture  of  ships.  They  were  do- 
ing the  oxy-acetylene  welding,  testing  the  torches,  assembling  the  small 
pieces  of  the  various  kinds  of  machinery,  and  running  drill  presses.  The 
eight  girls  engaged  in  the  work  wore  khaki-oolored  overalls  and  close- 
fitting  caps  with  visors.  At  a  motor  company  engaged  in  war  contracts, 
twelve  girls  were  employed  to  assemble  small  parts  for  the  motors  and 
to  do  light  work  around  the  machine  shop. 

An  interesting  sidelight  on  replacement  in  machine  shops  is  the  fact 
that  the  women  who  replaced  men  were  frequently  girls  who  had  high 
school  education,  whereas  the  men  were  in  many  cases  foreign  born,  and 
frequently  unable  to  speak  English  fluently. 

The  average  wage  of  women  in  Manufacturing  and  Mechanical  in- 
dustries is  $14.01,  the  average  wage  of  men  is  $17.42,  probably  due  to  the 
fact  that  untrained  women  were  replacing  unskilled  workmen.  The 
average  age  for  women  in  this  line  is  25  years. 

III.     Domestic  and  Personal 

In  Domestic  and  Personal  service  one  finds  that  46  women  are  re- 
placing 45  men,  at  an  average  weekly  wage  of  $12.47  and  $13.30,  respec- 
tively. There  is  very  little  difference  between  the  wages  of  the  two  sexes 
and  it  is  also  noteworthy  that  one  finds  here  the  lowest  average  of  wage, 
as  is  to  be  expected,  as  the  work,  which  includes  laundry  workers,  eleva- 
tor operators,  dish  washers,  waitresses,  cooks  and  kitchen  help  in  cafes 
is  unskilled.  The  average  age  is  rather  high,  being  28  years. 

IV.  Transportation 

In  Transportation  77  women  have  replaced  an  equal  number  of  men 
at  an  average  weekly  wage  of  $20.66;  the  men  replaced  received  an  aver- 
age salary  of  $21.54.  The  wage  is  high,  next  highest  to  professional  wo- 
men, due  to  the  increase  of  railway  employees'  salary  by  the  govern- 
ment. This  classification  includes  all  railroad  offices,  car  shops,  tele- 
graph and  telephone  companies.  The  average  age  of  women,  30  years, 
might  indicate  that  railroad  offices  require  mature,  experienced  help; 
which  is  true  to  a  certain  extent,  but  it  is.  also  true  that  women  employed 


8  WAR-TIME  REPLACEMENT 

in  car  shops  as  sweepers,  glass  cleaners,  car  cleaners,  and  unholsterers 
are  generally  married  women  which,  consequently,  brings  up  the  average 
age. 

For  example,  thirty-nine  women  employed  by  a  railway  company  for 
rib  track  labor,  coach  cleaning,  upholstering,  sweeping  and  coupling  have 
an  average  age  of  35.  They  are,  with  eight  exceptions,  women  of  foreign 
birth.  Their  children  range  from  one  to  twenty  years,  the  majority 
having  from  four  to  seven  in  number. 

Investigation  by  the  women  in  Industry  Service  and  locally  by  vari- 
ous other  social  agencies,  has  proved  that  in  the  majority  of  cases,  wo- 
men thus  employed  on  railway  work  had  husbands  holding  comparative- 
ly well  paid  positions  of  semi-skilled  type.  The  women  abandoned  their 
large  families  of  cihildren  under  the  age  of  sixteen  to  the  mercy  and 
care  of  an  older  child  or  to  the  neighbors,  while  they  spent  from  nine  to 
nine  and  a  half  hours  daily  at  work.  The  increase  in  the  family  income 
did  not  sufficiently  compensate  for  the  family  neglect.  It  is  the  opinion 
of  the  investigators  that  the  greatest  evil  is  found  in  the  resultant  effects 
upon  the  home  life,  and  upon  the  moral  and  physical  well-being  of  the 
family. 

V.     Clerical  and  Stenographic 

The  classification  of  Clerical  and  Stenographic  workers  does  not,  by 
any  means,  include  all  clerks,  stenographers  and  bookkeepers  replacing 
men  in  industry,  but  only  those  working  in  firms  not  otherwise  classi- 
fied. (For  complete  list  of  clerical  workers,  see  Table  No.  2.) 

In  this  classification  are  included  employment  agencies,  Education- 
al Institutions,  Moving  Picture  Firms,  Gas  and  Electric  firms.  The  aver- 
age age  of  such  clerical  help  is  25  V&  years,  40  women  replaced  39  men, 
at  $15.94,  and  $19.23,  respectively. 

VI.     Public  Service 

In  public  service,  which  includes  U.  S.  Grain  Supervision,  Civil  Serv- 
ice, City  Water  Department,  City  Engineer,  County  Treasurer,  Board  of 
Education  and  Court  Commissioner,  there  are  ten  men  replaced  by  an 
equal  number  of  women  at  an  average  weekly  wage  of  $18.76  and  $21.65 
respectively.  The  average  age  is  25  years. 

VII.     Professional 

The  last,  and  smallest  classification  of  industry  is  Professional,  in 
which  there  are  to  be  found  eig*ht  women  replacing  an  equal  number 
of  men  at  $22.96  and  $33.34,  respectively.  The  wide  discrepancy  between 
the  comparative  wages  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  man  replaced,  in  some 
cases,  was  doling  considerably  more  than  that  which  was  done  by  the 
woman  replacing  him  and,  no  doubt,  was  replaced  by  a  woman  of  less 
professional  skill  and  ability.  E.  g.,  in  a  hospital,  a  woman  executive  at 
a  weekly  wage  of  $43.90,  replaced  a  physician  at  $104.50  weekly.  Music 
teachers  ait  a  school  of  music  were  replaced  at  lower  wages;  also  piano 
players  in  moving  picture  theatres.  It  may  be  said,  in  passing,  that 
school  teachers  are  not  included  in  this  survey,  which  reduces  the  num- 
ber of  professional  women. 

.Thus,  total  replacements,  including  the  seven  classifications  of  in- 
dustry above  considered  may  be  summed  up  as  follows:  647  women,  at 
an  average  age  of  25,  and  an  average  wage  of  $15.25,  replaced  622  men 
at  $21.19. 


WAR-TIME  REPLACEMENT 


9 


PROPORTION  OF  REPLACEMENT  ACCORDING  TO 
KINDS  OF  BUSINESS 

TABLE  NO.  2— CLERICAL  AND  STENOGRAPHIC. 

|    No.  Women    |Av.  Weekly  Wage|     Av.  Age" 


1.  Trade 


231 


15.47 


25 


2.  Manf.  and  Mech  

51 

16.76 

24 

3.  Transportation     

52 

19.22 

25 

4.  Clerical     

32 

15.16 

25 

5.  Professional    

3 

12.34 

22 

6.  Public  Service  

10 

18.76 

26 

Total    

429 

' 

Average  Wage  

16.11 

24 

Total    Clerical    

225 

10.28 

Total  Steno.  and  Bkk.  .  .  . 

197 

17.04 

N.  B. — 7  clerical  workers  replaced  5  boys  in  a  bank  of  which  no  wages 
are  given.  Added  to  the  total  clerical  and  total  steno.  and  bkk. 
(225  +  197-j-7)=429. 

D.      Special   Classification   in   Clerical   and   Stenographic 

Replacement 

As  stated  before,  Clerical  and  Stenographic  workers  are  to  be  found 
in  every  field  of  business  and  industry,  in  fact,  66  per  cent  or  429  of  the 
647  women  replacing  men  in  the  seven  classes  of  employment  are  stenog- 
raphers, bookkeepers,  or  clerical  workers.  Their  average  wage  is  $16 
and  average  age,  24. 

Clerical  workers,  of  which  there  are  225  in  replacement,  have  a  low- 
er wage  than  stenographic  workers:  an  average  wage  of  $10.28  as  con- 
trasted with  $17.04. 

In  the  classification  with  clerical  workers  we  find  all  clerks  (except 
sales  clerks  in  stores),  stock  clerks,  receiving  clerks,  adding  machine 
operators,  bill  clerks,  order  clerks,  file  clerks,  exchange  clerks,  multi- 
graph  operators,  ledger  clerks,  etc. 

In  classification  with  stenographic  workers  we  find  stenographers, 
bookkeepers,  dictaphone  operators,  typists,  cashiers,  assistant  cashiers, 
ledger  bookkeepers,  tellers,  discount  tellers,  comptometer  operators  and 
secretaries. 

E.     Information  Included  in  Survey 

The  Survey  records  show,  in  relation  to  the  firm: 

1.  No.  women  replacing  men. 

2.  No.  men  replaced. 

3.  No.  men  replaced  in  Service. 

4.  Total  weekly  wage — Women. 

5.  Total  weekly  wage — Men  replaced. 
In  relation  to  the  individual: 

1.  Kind  of  work— women. 

2.  Nature  of  Man's  work. 

3.  Woman's  wages. 


10  WAR-TIME  REPLACEMENT 

4.  Man's  wages. 

5.  Hours  per  week — Women. 

6.  Hours  per  week — Men. 

II.     KINDS  OF  BUSINESS 

The  kinds  of  Business  in  which  replacement  is  found  are  as  follows: 

I.     Trade 

Investment  Companies.  5  and  10  Cent  Stores. 

Stocks  &  Bonding  Companies.  Oil  Companies. 

Real  Estate.  Automobile   Equipment  Companies. 

Mortgage  Companies.  Paints,  Varnishes  and  Oil  Stores. 

Life,  Fire  &  Marine  Insurance  Co.    Trunk  and  Baggage  Stores. 

Inspection  Bureaus.  Lumber  and  Coal  Companies. 

Banks.  Medical  Supply  Co. 

Trust  Companies.  Gas  Fixture  Companies. 

Tea  and  Coffee  Companies.  Moving  Picture  Film  Firms. 

Jewelry  Stores.  Optical  Co. 

Paper  Companies. 

Cigar  Stores.  Brewing  Companies. 

Drug  Stores.  Wholesale  Grocers. 

Grocery  Stores.  Wholesale  Distributors. 

Creameries.  Packing  Companies. 

Hardware  Companies.  Grain  Companies. 

Dry  Goods  Stores.  Mills   &  Elevators. 

Clothing  Stores.  Distilled  Water  Firms. 

Photographers.  Plumbing  &  Heating  Firms. 

II.     Public  Service 

Board  of  Education.  Colleges. 

County  Offices.  Libraries. 

Court  Commissioners  Office.  Hospitals. 

III.     Professional 

Law  Firms.  Music  Schools.  Contractors  and  Builders  Office 

IV.     Transportation 

Railway — Ticket,  Freight  and  Executive  Offices. 

Car  Shops. 

Telephone  &  Telegraph  Companies. 

V.     Manufacturing  and  Mechanical 

Electric  Companies. 

Foundries,  Iron  and  Metal  Ware  Mfg.  Companies. 

Printers  and  Publishers. 

Bakeries,  Ice  Cream  and   Biscuit  Mfg.   Cos. 

Knitting  Mills. 

Agricultural  Implements  Mfg. 

Gas  Light  Companies. 

Box  Manufacturing  Companies. 

Oil  Refineries. 

Sash  and  Door  Companies. 

Casket  Factories. 

Granite  and  Marble  Works. 


WAK-TIME  REPLACEMENT 
VI.     Domestic  and  Personal 

Laundries  and  Dry  Cleaners. 

Office   Buildings    (Elevator  Operators). 

Cafes  and  Lunch  Rooms. 

Hotels. 


HI.    KINDS  OF  WORK 


The   following  is  a  list  of  the  kinds   of  work  in  which  women   re- 
placed men: 


I.    Domestic  and  Personal 


Washers  (Laundries). 
Ironcrs  (Laundries). 
Elevator  Opera-tors. 
Dishwashers        ) 
I 


Waitresses 


Outside  the 


H,,P 

Head  Porter  (Hotel). 
Bus  Girls  (Lunch  Rooms). 


Sweepers 
Glass  Cleaners 
Rit>  Track  Labor 
Car  Cleaners 
Coach   Labor 


v 
I 

f   In 


Railway 
and  v 
Car  Shops 


Scrubbing  Cars 
Janitresses. 
Barbers. 


II.     Manufacturing  and  Mechanical 


Lead  Burners. 

Assemblers. 

Telephone  Repair  Workers. 

Slag  Sorters. 

Press  Mac'hine  Operators. 

PrlTf 


Bindery  Workers. 

Doughnut   Packers. 
Hosiery  Finishers. 
Upholsterers. 


Jewelry   Repairers. 
Finishers. 
Shellac  Workers. 
Glue    Workers. 
Sash  Makers. 

Workers-Running  Cut-off  Saw. 


, 

Cutting  Light  Lumber. 
.       D<><>r  Patching. 
Cream  Testers. 
Casket  Liners. 


III.     Professional 


Teacher  of  Telegraphy. 
Draftsman. 
Music  Teacher. 
Executive. 


Laboratory  Worker  and  Teacher. 

Pharmacist. 

Anesthetist. 

Piano  Player. 


Short  Buyers. 
Saleswomen. 


IV.     Other  Occupations 


Clerk  (Stores). 
Flo-or  Ladies. 


12  WAR-TIME  REPLACEMENT 

V.     Clerical  and  Stenographic 

In  Trade,  Manufacturing  and  Mechanical   Industries,   Public    Serv- 
ice, Transportation,  etc. 

General  Clerical  Workers!  Transit   Clerks. 

Record  Clerks.  Multigraph  Operators. 

Order  Clerks.  Exchange   Clerks. 

Ledger  Clerks.  Clerical   (listing,  sorting). 

Traffic  Clerks.  Tellers. 

Bill  Clerks.  Insurance  Underwriters. 

Rate  Clerks.  Cash  Accountants. 

Shop  Clerks.  Caslhiers. 

.  Reclaim  Clerks.  Bookkeepers. 

Filing  Clerks.  Stenographers. 

Card  Record  Clerks.  Dictaphone  Operators. 

Comptometer  Operators.  Assistant  Managers. 

Adding  Machine  Operators.  Office   Managers. 

IV.     COMPARATIVE  WAGE  AND  HOURS 
TABLE  HI 

Comparative  Wages  of  Men  and  Women  in 
Replacement 


No.  of 
|             Women 

1  Per  cent  of  Total 
|        Replacement 

Equal    Wage    

154 

|               23.8 

Lower  Wage  for  Women  ...... 

342 

|               55.9 

Higher  Wage  for  Women  

73 

|                11.2 

Exceptional  Cases 


3  cases  in  which   1  woman  replaced  2  men. 

20  cases  in  which  2  women  replaced   1   man. 

1    case  in  which  3  women  replaced  1    man. 

IV.    COMPARATIVE  WAGE  AND  HOURS 

As  a  rule  there  is  no  flagrant  injustice  in  the  comparative  wage  paid 
men  and  'the  women  who  replaced  them  in  Minneapolis.  It  may  be 
noted  in  this  connection  that  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Labor  has  declared 
itself  in  favor  of  equal  wages  far  women  performing  the  same  work  as 
men  on  government  contracts,  and  that  a  similar  position  has  been  taken 
by  the  Director-General  of  Railways  in  ordering  .the  recent  wage  in- 
creases, and  by  the  National  War  Labor  Board  which  has  defined  its 
policy  in  the  following  terms: 

"If  it  shall  be  necessary  to  employ  women  on  work  ordinarily  per- 
formed by  men,  they  must  be  allowed  equal  pay  for  equal  work." 

In  the  business  and  industrial  practice  of  Minneapolis  the  following 
points  relating  to  the  wages  and  hours  have  been  considered: 

I.     Equal  Pay 

Of  the  647  women  replacing  men,  154  of  them,  or  23.8  per  cent  re- 
ceived pay  equal  to  that  of  the  men.  Where  women  are  a  new  feature, 


WAR-TIME  REPLACEMENT  13 

we  find  that  they  are  likely  to  receive  equal  pay;  e.  g.,  23  women  in  a 
Sash  and  Door  Company,  where  women  'have  made  their  initial  entrance 
owing  to  the  undue  shortage  of  labor,  have  replaced  23  men  at  equal 
wages,  ranging  from  $9  to  $11  per  week.  Three  teachers  of  telegraphy 
replaced  three  men  at  equal  wages,  namely,  at  $25,  $22.50  and  $20. 

In  railway  offices  there  is  a  high  standard  wage  and,  as  a  rule,  the 
salaries  of  men  and  women  replaced  are  equal.  Some  cases  are  noted 
where  the  man  replaced  received  considerably  less,  which  indicates 
that  the  man  left  before  the  automatic  governmental  increase  took  place, 
and  that  the  woman  who  replaced  him  received  the  increase  some  time 
after  her  entrance. 

Where  help  is  unskilled  and  there  is  no  question  of  personality, 
the  tendency  is  for  equal  wages;  cooks,  dishwashers,  waitresses,  and 
bus-girls  in  lunch  rooms  and  cafes,  receive  the  same  wages  as  the  men 
replaced.  There  are  rare  cases  of  replacement  with  equal  wage  in  pro- 
fessional lines;  e.  g.,  in  a  large  hospital  a  woman  replaced  a  man  at  a 
similar  wage  to  that  which  he  had  received,  $41.50,  working  from  48  to 
72  hours  weekly  at  laboratory  work  and  teaching.  ..Also  a  pharmacist 
is  replaced  by  a  woman  at  the  same  rate,  $18.75  a  week,  each  working 
48  hours. 

II.     Woman's  Wage — Lower 

In  over  one-half,  or  55.9  per  cent,  of  the  cases  the  women  received 
a  lower  wage  than  the  men  they  replaced.  That  is,  342  out  of  647  wo- 
men stepped  into  men's  places  for  less  pay  than  the  men  had  received. 
Where  the  wages  of  women  are  less,  the  difference  usually  is  from  10 
to  50  per  cent.  Various  reasons  were  assigned  for  the  lower  wage 
scale. 

a.  Experience. — A  good  reason   given  for  lower  wage   for  women 
is  lack  of  experience  on  the  part  of  the  women.     Some  employers  stated 
that  women's  wages  are  gradually  being  increased  as  they  become  more 
efficient.     In  several  places  women  are  paid  a  lower  rate  while  learning. 

For  example,  a  woman  at  $25  a  week  replaces  an  assistant  manager 
of  a  Teachers'  Agency  at  $37.50;  also  one  at  $23.07  sells  electric  ranges 
in  place  of  a  man  at  $35.77.  Both  are  positions  which  require  gradual 
adjustment  to  insure  efficiency.  A  chief  clerk  in  an  electric  concern 
who  received  $25.38  is  replaced  by  a  woman  at  $19.21;  another  clerk  at 
$23  is  replaced  at  $13.85.  An  office  manager  at  $40  per  week  has  left 
his  position  to  a  woman  who  receives  $25  weekly.  Although  it  is  im- 
possible to  accurately  judge  the  justice  of  the  wages  unless  one  has 
an  insight  into  the  personal  qualities  of  the  individuals,  however,  the 
trend  of  wage  can  be  shown  with  indications  for  its  cause. 

b.  Necessity    of    Providing    with    Helpers. — Another    reason    offere4 
for  lower  wages  of  women  is  the  necessity  of  providing  them  with  help- 
ers to  set  up  machines,  to  make  repairs,  and  to  bring  up  stock. 

For  example:  Press  feeders  in  printing  offices,  though  receiving 
equal  wages  in  three  cases,  vary  from  two  to  nine  dollars  less  per  week 
than  the  men  replaced.  Employers  of  these  firms  have  given  as  a  rea- 
son for  this  discrepancy  in  wage  the  necessity  of  hiring  boys  to  keep 
the  machines  in  order.  A  college  replaces  a  man  at  $21  in  clerical 
work  by  a  woman  at  $10,  but  the  man  was  also  a  chauffeur.  In  a  library 
a  woman  in  charge  of  an  office  receives  $25  for  36  hours  work,  whereas 
the  man  replaced  received  $35.25  for  the  same  number  of  hours;  how- 
ever, the  man  also  made  repairs.  The  question  arises  at  this  point:  Is 
the  deduction  more  or  less  than  the  cost  of  the  extra  labor? 


1 4  W AR-T I'M  E  REPLACEM ENT 

c.  Prejudice  of  Employer. — Sometimes  the  discrepancy  in  wage 
paid  is  so  great  and  the  apparent  reason  for  it  so  slight,  that  one  is  in- 
clined to  believe  that  the  employer  is  guided  by  traditions  of  lower  paj 
for  women's  work,  irrespective  of  the  comparative  quality  of  work 
aecomplished. 

Two  girls  at  $9  each  a  week  replaced  two  men  as  soda  fountain 
clerks  at  $20  and  $24.  Also,  in  a  bag  manufacturing  company  a  girl 
does  machine  sewing  for  $5  a  week  where  the  man  received  $18.  In 
a  laundry  a  woman  washer  at  $12  a  week  replaced  a  man  at  $17;  like- 
wise, in  another  laundry,  a  woman  at  $16  replaced  a  man  at  $20.  There 
would  seem  to  be  no  reason  why  women  running  elevators  should  re- 
ceive less  than  men,  and  yet  with  the  exception  of  three  individual  op- 
erators this  is  true. 

III.     Women's  Wage  Higher 

In  a  comparatively  small  number  of  cases,  73  out  of  647,  or  11.2  per 
cent,  women  have  received  higher  wages  than  the  men  replaced.  This 
may  often  be  explained  by  the  war-time  emergency.  It  was  ncessary 
to  fill  a  man's  place  immediately  in  a  number  of  cases,  and,  if  the  suit- 
able person  could  be  found,  she  was  hired  at  a  higher  wage  than  could 
have  been  obtained  had  there  not  been  a  shortage  of  labor.  However, 
in  42  cases  of  the  total  number,  73,  the  variation  in  wage  is  only  from 
one  to  two  dollars;  mot  an  appreciable  gain  for  the  woman. 

Other  cases  whidh  constitute  the  really  exceptional  replacements 
are  to  be  found  in  railway  offices  and  sihops,  insurance  companies,  banks, 
grain  companies,  oil  refineries,  etc.  In  a  railway  office  a  reclaim  clerk 
at  $24  working  48  hours,  replaces  a  man  who  worked  for  52%  hours  at 
$17.  Two  otiher  cases  of  the  sort  are  found  in  another  railway  office 
where  two  girls  at  $20  and  $21.50  respectively,  replace  two  men  at  $10.50 
and  $16.50.  In  a  railway  car  s'hop  a  woman  at  $21.50  replaces  a  man  at 
$16.50.  These  remarkable  cases,  ranging  from  25  per  cent  to  50  per  cent 
increase  for  the  women,  are  due  to  the  fact  of  automatic  "rise"  in  rate 
of  wage  for  railways. 

An  office  girl  in  a  life  insurance  company  receives  $22.50  in  place 
of  a  man  at  $13.75.  Four  girls  who  are  stenographers  or  bookkeepers  in 
grain  companies  receive  from  $2.50  to  $4.20  more  for  their  wark.  Two 
girls  in  banks,  as  well  as  two  more  in  fuel  companies,  also  receive  pro- 
portionately more. 

IV.     Special  Cases 

The  most  interesting  and  unusual  type  of  replacement  is  that  in 
which  one  woman  replaces  two  men,  or  two  or  more  women  replace  one 
man.  Such  cases  show  more  plainly  than  any  others  the  problems  of 
war-rtime  readjustment  and  the  difficulties  which  the  emergency  brought 
forth. 

There  are  three  cases  in  which  one  woman  replaced  two  men.  For 
a  railway  office,  a  woman  at  $24.70  weekly,  was  doing  the  work  of  both 
a  bill  clerk  at  $22.50  and  a  stenographer  at  $18.  Also,  a  girl  at  $21.87 
did  the  clerical  work  of  two  men  who  had  worked,  at  $18.75  and  $15, 
respectively.  In  the  office  of  a  scale  company  a  stenographer  at  a  not- 
ably lower  wage,  $12.50,  replaced  two  men  who  had  received  $18.75 
and  $20. 


WAR-TIME  REPLACEMENT  15 

One  cannot  be  too  careful  in  drawing  conclusions  in  this  matter. 
Superficially,  one  might  say  that  in  three  cases  we  find  proof  of  the 
superior  efficiency  of  women  to  that  of  men,  however,  a  number  of  ele- 
ments miglht  have  entered  into  the  consideration  of  the  employer  in  thus 
replacing  two  men  with  one  woman.  The  business  might  have  suffered 
on  account  of  the  war  depression,  thus  making  a  retrenchment  possible; 
the  woman  might  have  been  a  mature,  experienced  business  woman 
and  the  men  replaced,  young  and  lacking  in  training;  or  the  more  care- 
ful supervision  on  the  part  of  a  higher  member  of  the  firm  might  have 
lightened  the  responsibility  of  the  woman  who  entered  in  place  of  the 
two  men. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  are  twenty  cases  in  which  two  women  were 
necessary  to  replace  one  man,  and  one  case  where  three  women  filled 
one  man's  position.  In  the  latter  instance  three  stock  clerks  at  .$8 
were  necessary  to  Jill  the  place  of  one  man  ait  $16.75  in  a  Moving  Pic- 
ture Film  company.  In  these  instances,  one  should  be  equally  cautious 
in  drawing  conclusions  as  to  the  superior  ability  of  the  men  who  were 
replaced.  Could  not  lack  of  experience  on  the  part  of  the  girls,  and  the 
possibility  of  enlarging  the  office  force  by  hiring  girls  ait  lower  wages, 
and  increase  in  business  be  good  reasons  for  this  unusual  adjustment? 
Lack  of  care  in  selecting  girls,  and  the  lack  of  incentive  for  the  girls 
because  of  the  feeling  of  the  temporary  character  of  the  job,  might  be 
further  elements  in  determining  this  unusual  readjustment. 

In  a  printing  firm,  two  girls  at  $15  each,  replace  as  press-feeders  one 
man  at  $17;  also,  at  a  chair  manufacturing  company,  two  girls  employed 
on  chair  sandpapering  at  $12  each  replace  one  man  at  $16. 

In  trade,  we  find  in  an  insurance  office  two  bookkeepers  at  $17.50 
each,  replacing  one  man  at  $25.38;  also,  two  ledger  bookkeepers,  in  an- 
other firm,  at  $11.25  replacing  one  man  ait  $16.50.  In  a  freight  office, 
two  girls  employed  as  clerks  at  $24  and  $18.75,  respectively,  replace  one 
man  at  $25.  One  finds  in  a  lunch  room,  two  waitresses  at  $7  each  filling  the 
place  of  one  man  at  $12.  Therefore,  in  all  instances  noted  where  two  women 
replaced  one  man  the  women  worked  for  less  wages  than  the  men,  and  their 
hours  of  work  were  the  same. 

TABLE  IV 
Comparative  Hours  of  Men  and  Women  in  Replacement 


No.  of  Cases 

Per  cent  of  Total 

Equal  hours   

504 

77.8  % 

Longer  hours  for 
'higher  wages 

man    with  ' 

95 

14.6  % 

Shorter  hours  for 
higher  wage  . 

women  with 

10 

.01% 

V.    Hours  of  Work 

For  the  most  part,  the  hours  of  work  for  men  and  women  are  equal, 
that  is,  in  504  cases  of  647,  or  77.8  per  cent.  Thus,  in  over  three-fourths 
of  replacement  cases,  whether  the  man  had  received  larger  pay,  equal 
or  less  than  the  woman  replaced,  the  hours  of  work  were  not  a  consid- 
eration. However,  in  95  cases,  14.6  per  cent,  in  which  the  man  received 
a  higher  wage,  theTact  that  he  worked  longer  hours,  undoubtedly  justi- 
fied his  greater  recompense. 


16  WAR-TIME  REPLACEMENT 

A  cook  in  a  lunch  room,  working  at  $12  for  54  hours  replaced  a 
man  at  $14,  who  worked  70  hours.  Also,  a  clerk  in  a  grocery  store  work- 
ing 50  hours  for  $6  replaced  a  man  at  $13  work  who  worked  72  hours. 
This  is  a  frequent  occurrence  in  small  retail  replacement  wlhere  the  wage 
of  the  girl  is  always  noticeably  less  than  that  of  the  man  replaced.  How- 
ever, there  are  only  two  cases  where  'the  girl  who  took  the  place  of  a 
man  received  $6,  this  wage  being  below  the  minimum  wage  far  the  state 
of  Minnesota. 

In  10  cases  women  receive  a  higher  wage  for  shorter  hours.  Tfiis 
occurs,  in  two  instances,  in  transportation,  which  has  been  previously 
explained  as  due  to  governmental  increase  of  wage.  Also,  a  woman 
doing  clerical  work  in  a  bank,  45  hours  weekly,  for  $12.50,  replaced  a 
man  at  $10.60,  wo'rking  50  hours.  A  lady  barber  in  a  hotel  ait  $30  per 
week,  working  66  hours,  replaced  a  man  at  $25  for  70  hours. 


V.     Replacement  in  Minneapolis  as  Shown  by  United 
States  Employment  Service 

The  records  of  the  Survey  have  been  supplemented  by  the  replace- 
ment records  of  the  United  States  Employment  Service  in  Minneapolis. 
The  Survey  includes  only  sucih  replacement  as  existed  at  the  time  of 
investigation,  that  is,  during  the  months  of  August  and  September; 
whereas,  the  report  of  the  United  States  Employment  Service  in  Minne- 
apolis includes  the  replacement  from  July  through  October.  The  latter 
does  not  include  ordinary  factory  placements,  only  those  cases  in 
which  a  woman  actually  took  the  place  of  a  man;  and,  so  far  as  can  be 
determined,  it  does  not  include  replacement  of  women  displaced,  who 
were  in  turn  taking  men's  positions.  It  does  not  intetfd  to  state  that 
the  total  replacements  stated  for  each  firm  were  true  at  any  one  time, 
although  such  might  have  been  the  case,  but  the  report  is  the  total 
aggregate  of  all  replacement  calls  filled  for  the  firms  who  left  calls  with 
the  Employment  Service. 

These  records  of  the  Employment  Service  include  all  Industrial  and 
Domestic  replacement,  but  they  do  noit  include  clerical,  stenographic 
and  professional  readjustments. 

The  total  number  of  replacements  noted  by  the  United  States  Em- 
ployment Service  in  Minneapolis  was  545;  of  this  number,  132  were  in- 
cluded in  tlhe  Survey,  leaving  413  cases  of  readjustment  not  included  in 
Survey  totals. 

Total  replacement   (Survey) 647 

Total  replacement  (U.  S.  E.  S.) 413 

Total  replacement    1,060 

The  minimum  wage  noted  by  Employment  Service  was  $7  (appren- 
tice), $10  (regular  workers),  while  the  maximum  wage  was  found  to  be 
$18.90.  Average  wage  is  $9.15. 

I 


WAR-TIME  REPLACEMENT 


17 


TABLE  NO.  V. 
Replacement  of  Men  by  Women — U»  S>  Employment  Service. 


Industry 

Occupation 

No.  Women 
Replaced  in 
MpU.  Firing 

Wage 

* 

Wholesale  Paper  .  .  . 

Weighers 
Truckers 
Order  Clerks 

15 

$12  (init.) 

0 

Wholesale  Clothing 

Order  Clerks 

50 

10  (init.) 

36 

Wholesale  Grocery  . 

Packers 

10 

12  (init.) 

4 

Retail  Clothing   

Delivery  clerk 

2 

15-18  (init.) 

7 

Office   Buildings 

Elevator  operator 

8 

15  (iwit.) 

5 

Implement  Mfgs  

Welders 
Riveters 
Drillers 
Benc/h  work,   etc. 

150 

13.50 
18.90 

7 

Oil  Pump  Mfg  

Machine  operator 

2 

16.80 

0 

Printing  Office  

Apprentice  printers 

15 

7.00-9.00 

4 

Retail  Grocery  

Deliverers 

2 

12.00 

Telegraph  Co  

Messenger  girls 

30 

11.25 

2 

Paper  Mill   

Beaters 

Off-bearers 

45 

16.20 

p 

Roofing  and  Tiling.  .  . 

Shingle   makers 
Sorters  and  packers 
Truckers 
Car   loaders 
Sample   girl 

45 

16.20 

? 

Storage  Battery  

Bat.  &  stk.  woman 

1080 

5 

13.50 

? 

Flour  Mills  

Sack  packers 

Sack  cleaners 
Sack  menders 
Sack  sorters 

30 

15.00 

0 

Electric  Company  .  .  . 

Meter  readers 

5 

15.00 

7 

Creamery    . 

Dasteurizers 

i 

handlers 
Packers 

15 

13.50 

8 

Wood  Factory  | 

Glaziers 

15 

11.88 

0 

Food  Manufacture  .  .  .i 

1 

Shakers 
Packers 

15 

10.00 

? 

Broom    Industry    .... 

Corn  sorter 

1 

12.00 

Trunk   Manufacture    . 

Upholsterers 

5. 

16.20 

4 

Furnisher  Mfgrs  

Finishers 

25 

11.88 

Telephone  Cos.  .  .  

Repairers 

25 

12.50 

4 

TOTALS   

.545 

132 

Number  Womeji  Recorded' 
by  Survey  as  Replacing 
Men  in  Same  Firms  Dur- 
ing August-: September.  : 


18  WAR-TIME  RKPLACEMENT 

VI.     Relation  of  Amount  of  Replacement  to  the  Total 
Number  of  Men  Who  Entered  the  Service 

A  conservative  estimate  of  the  number  of  women  entering  business 
and  industry  in  the  places  of  men  who  entered  the  service  may  be  set 
at  1500.*  As  contrasted  with  the  number  who  left,  15,000,  the  number 
seems  very  inadequate,  but  one-tenth.  A  number  of  valid  reasons  for 
this  wide  discrepancy  a're  immediately  evident. 

1. — The  number  of  women  ordinarily  employed  increased  greatly 
during  the  war  period.  Although  women  have  been  in  industry  for 
years,  the  war  emergency  accentuated  the  demand  for  the  woman  work- 
er. Normal  employment  of  women  increased  tremendously.  War  con- 
tracts necessitated  the  enlargement  of  office  forces,  and  extra  employ- 
ment of  workers,  recruited  largely  from  women,  in  machine  shops. 
While  not  in  the  exact  sense  of  the  word,  replacement,  in  some  cases, 
there  was  a  doubling  up  of  responsibility  on  the  part  of  the  men  who 
were  left,  and  an  increase  in  employment  of  female  help  for  detailed 
routine  work. 

2. — Another  factor  in  explaining  the  small  number  of  nominal  re- 
placements lies  in  the  fact  that  older  men  replaced  men  leaving  for  the 
camps. 

3. — The  large  exodus  from  high  and  grade  schools  indicates  that 
the  sdhool  boy  replaced  men  leaving  for  war  to  a  large  extent.  No  doubt 
work  was  undertaken  as  a  vacation  opportunity,  but  the  lure  of  the  hith- 
erto unusual  salary  tempted  and  often  succeeded  in  inducing  the  boy 
to  retain  his  position  at  the  price  of  losing  a  complete  high  school  edu- 
cation. 

4. — Lastly,  it  is  a  well  known  fact  that  many  businesses  suffered 
greatly  during  the  war,  so  that  instead  of  expansion  resulting  in  addition 
of  female  help,  retrenchment  resulted. 


VII.     Demobilization  of  Women 

As  to  the  demobilization,  that  is  to  say,  the  readjustment  to  a  peace 
basis  of  women  workers,  several  tendencies  are  at  work: 

1.  Patriotism  is  a  motive  which  moves  employers  to  dismiss  their 
women  workers  in  order  that  they  may  take  back  the  returning  soldiers. 
The  average  employer  feels  an  obligation,  if  only  an  ethical  one,  to  pro- 
vide for  any  of  his  own  help  who  had  been  displaced  because  they  had 
answered  war's  call. 

2.  In  cases  where  a  woman  has  very  ably  filled  a  man's  position,  it 
is  a  frequent  occurrence  for  tlhe  employer  to  retain  her,  leaving  her  the 
bulk  of  her  work,  and  nominally  giving  back  to  the  re-employed  soldier 
his  former  position,  while  leaving  him  only  a  few  of  his  former  duties, 
with  the  hope  that  he  will  work  into  the  firm  in  a  larger  capa-city. 


*N.  B. — The  figures  of  the  Survey  combined  with  those  of  the  U.  S. 
Employment  Service  total  1,060,  (647,  Survey,  and  413,  U.  S.  E.  S.).  The 
reason  for  the  estimate  of  1,500  comes  from  the  fact  that  there  are  two 
notable  omissions  in  the  records.  1 — The  large  department  stores  did  not 
co-operate  in  contributing  information  to  the  Survey.  2 — No  record  of 
Clerical,  Stenographic,  and  Professional  replacement  has  been  made  since 
the  Survey  was  completed  in  the  middle  of  September.  (U.  S.  E.  S.  com- 
pleted the  figures  of  Industrial  replacement.) 


WAR-TIME  REPLACEMENT  19 

3.  The  fact  that  women  are  willing  to  work  for  less  wages   than 
men  and  also  the  fact  that  returning  men  are  often  dissatisfied  with  their 
old  positions  and  former  salaries,  often  influences  the  employers  to  re- 
tain the  women. 

4.  Some  firms,  especially  banks,  railroad  companies,  and  telegraph 
concerns,  have  taken  a  census  of  their  women  employees,  requiring  them 
to  state  whether  they  were  dependent  solely  on  their  own  support  and 
whether  they  had  any  one  dependent  on  their  earnings.     In  either  case, 
they  were  retained;  if  not,  discharged,  thus  following  an  economic  law. 
Men  who  had  been  replaced  were  then  given  the  vacancies. 

One  large  Wholesale  clothing  store  has  dismissed  most  of  its  women. 
An  iron  manufacturing  concern  which  employed  a  hundred  women  has 
released  the  majority  of  them,  but  is  now  taking  them  back  in  the  weld- 
ing departmen/t,  as  that  work  is  done  with  greater  skill  and  dexterity 
by  feminine  fingers. 

In  a  roofing  and  tiling  concern  where  women  were  employed  as 
car-loaders,  sorters,  packers,  and  at  a  vafiety  of  other  kinds  of  manual 
labor,  for  30c  an  hour,  by  no  means  what  the  men  replaced  had  received, 
the  employer  promptly  replaced  the  girls  with  returned  soldiers.  How- 
ever, he  (has  since  replaced  the  soldiers  again  with  women,  as  he  says 
"the  boys  did  no  work,  only  stood  around  talking  about  their  expe- 
riences in  France."  "That  was  all  right  for  a  couple  of  days,"  he  re- 
marked, "But  after  a  week  I  expected  them  to  get  some  work  done." 
Maybe  the  wage  he  offered  to  the  men,  35c  an  'hour,  was  also  an  element 
in  determining  the  double  replacement. 

Two  of  the  flour  mills  have  taken  all  their  men  back,  thereby  dis- 
placing girls.  A  third  mill  has  kept  all  of  its  girls  and  taken  on  several 
in  addition  since  the  armistice,  as  the  employment  manager  of  the  firm 
says  that  women  are  quicker  and  more  efficient  as  sack  cleaners,  mend- 
ers, and  sorters,  and  as  power  machine  operators.  On  the  other  hand, 
as  finishers,  planers,  and  sanders  in  a  furniture  manufacturing  company, 
women  proved  far  less  capable  than  men,  according  to  the  head  of  that 
establishment,  and  have  therefore  been  discharged  for  male  help.  In 
metal  industries,  women  excel  in  semi-skilled  work  of  repetitive  charac- 
ter, in  which  rapidity,  lightness  of  touch,  and  natural  dexterity  are  more 
important  than  skill  acquired  through  long  training  and  experience. 

The  ability  and  efficiency  which  women  have  shown  in  all  of  the 
various  lines  of  industry  and  business  on  which  they  have  embarked 
have  proved  their  permanent  value.  Women  have  been  entering  indus- 
try for  years  and  will  remain  in  industry  largely  because  of  economic 
pressure.  The  war  merely  accelerated  the  movement  and  when  the 
temporary  depression  is  over,  new  needs  for  both  men  and  women  will 
arise  and  war-time  experience  will  bear  its  fruits  in  the  trust  and  confi- 
dence given  to  the  woman  worker. 


S  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 


AN  INITIAL  FINE  OF  25  CENTS 

WILL  BE  ASSESSED  FOR  FAILURE  TO  RETURN 
THIS  BOOK  ON  THE  DATE  DUE.  THE  PENALTY 
WILL  INCREASE  TO  SO  CENTS  ON  THE  FOURTH 
DAY  AND  TO  $1.OO  ON  THE  SEVENTH  DAY 
OVERDUE. 


AUG          1940 


LD  21-100m-7,'39(402s) 


593294 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


